Taking Time to Fly
by mommato2beauties
Summary: A father and son moment between Harry and Albus.


"Dad, can we go for a fly?"

It was the first nice day after a week of rain, and Albus was feeling a bit of cabin fever. His older brother was away at Hogwarts, and there were only so many times he could play dollies with his little sister.

"Sounds like a great idea, Al, I could use a break." Harry closed and locked his office door with a flick of his wand. He poked his head into the sitting room. "Hey, Gin…Al and I are going for a fly. We'll be back in time to eat."

They both grabbed brooms from the broom shed. Harry and Ginny lived fairly simple lives, but he did insist on keeping the best brooms. They both mounted and flew to the small field behind their house. After a few laps around, they came to rest on the ground.

"Dad, what was it like to be the youngest Seeker for Gryffindor? I mean, it must have felt like a lot to live up to." Albus really did enjoy listening to his father talk about his time at Hogwarts. He didn't often talk about his life before his eleventh birthday. It sometimes felt like his dad's life began when he started at Hogwarts.

"It was incredible." Harry always became very animated when he talked about his time at school. "I had never been on a broom before, I was expecting to be expelled and instead, I ended up on the House team. It was a bit crazy because I had never even seen the game before that."

"Can you help me practice some Seeker moves? I doubt I'll be good enough to get on the team my first year, but when we play at the Burrow; Seeker really is my favorite position."

Harry had been watching Albus during Sunday games at the Burrow. He thought Al showed real potential in the Seeker position. He had been "assigned" Seeker one afternoon, because none of the other kids had wanted to. He had shown real aptitude, and was now the "official younger Seeker."

Harry started looking on the ground for small stones to toss up for Al to catch. He was spot on for every toss. Harry made a mental note to get a hold of a real Snitch, so he and Albus could really practice.

"Come on down, Albus."

Albus gracefully landed and dropped the stones onto the ground. "What?"

"Your mother will likely hex me, but would you like to learn to do a Wronski Feint? They can be dangerous, but I'll show it to you, and we can practice it slowly." Harry was glad that Ginny couldn't see the field from the house, and he was sure she wasn't going to head out to watch. He had decided it was easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

"No WAY…you'd show me? A good Wronski Feint would get me on a House team for sure…maybe not as a Firstie, but second year…yeah?"

"I'm sure that you'll be good enough to get on a House team, whether you can Feint or not. It's just really FUN. Come on, up in the air…I'll show you, and then I'll tell you. After that, you can try it, but you have to go slow."

Albus watched in awe as Harry went diving for the ground at top speed, only to pull up on the broom handle at the last second. He leveled off and then began to climb again. He reached where Al was, and settled into a hover.

"That was wicked, dad. You could have played professionally." Al couldn't keep the admiration out of his voice.

"One professional Quidditch player in the family was enough. I'm more than happy in the Auror office. Now…first, make sure you have a good grip on your broom. You want to lean low on the broom handle…it will help you get good speed. You're not looking for speed yet, not until you can control your broom. Don't get too close to the ground before you level off, for now. As you improve, you'll be able to get closer."

Al got himself set correctly on his broom, and began a slow dive. He started getting nervous and pulled out of the dive about ten feet from the ground. He leveled his broom and climbed back up to where Harry was sitting.

"Not bad for a first try, Al. You'll get more comfortable soon. We won't work on speed, until you get more comfortable in the dive. Try it a few more times."

Albus worked on diving for the ground, getting closer and closer each time, before pulling out of the dive. Instinctually, he also got a bit faster as he got more comfortable. He looked over to his father, who was hovering on his broom. He smiled as Harry gave him a thumbs up.

"That's great. Remember, the most important thing about pulling off a good feint, for a Seeker, is to look convincing. The other Seeker has to think you've really seen the Snitch. You want them to follow you. You also have to be able to pull out of any maneuver you're doing in a second, if you really do see the Snitch. Let's run some drills to work on your broom handling skills."

Harry pulled out his wand and used it to set an obstacle course in the air. It wasn't overly complicated, and he had no fear that Albus wouldn't be able to handle it. Harry had gotten all his children on a broom as soon as he was able, and all three were as comfortable in the air as they were on the ground. As Al mastered each component, Harry would make it more challenging.

"OK, Al…fly the course. I'll watch to see where you can improve."

Al flew the course several times, and Harry offered some advice. The next time Al flew it, Harry flicked his wand, changing a few of the elements. To his delight, the changes didn't faze Al at all, and he was able to handle them without missing a beat.

"All right, kiddo…time to go in. Your mother won't allow us to come to the table looking like we do. Time to get cleaned up."

They raced to the broom shed, Harry winning easily. They put up the brooms and walked into the house together. Ginny took one look at them, wrinkled her nose and merely pointed in the direction of the bathroom. She then set about getting supper together.

Harry came back down to the kitchen, his hair wet from his shower. He kissed Ginny on the cheek and sat down.

"Al wants to be Seeker on his House team, when he gets to Hogwarts." Harry really was quite proud of his son.

"I'm sure he'll manage it. He's an excellent seeker. I've seen him play on Sundays. There are times that he almost beats you to the Snitch, and I know that you aren't 'letting' him get that close. You don't ever just let the children win."

Ginny started dishing out the supper, and casually looked over her shoulder. "I heard Al telling Lily about learning to do a Wronski Feint. Did you really think that was wise, and did you REALLY think I wouldn't find out?"

Harry got up and put his arms around his wife. "This is where I start asking for forgiveness, for forgetting to ask permission." He kissed her neck. "Is it working?"

"No need to ask for forgiveness, its fine." Ginny called the children to the table. "Just try hard not to kill our son out there, yeah?"

Harry finished his supper and headed back to his office to finish what he was working on. Through the door, he could hear Albus telling Ginny all about their afternoon. He noticed that Al was trying hard to leave out his Wronski Feint practice, and Ginny was trying to trick it out of him. It would be interesting to hear who won this battle of wills. Harry put down his quill and listened, his Galleons were squarely on his wife.


End file.
